GR-MEGA firmware 1.6.0 release notes

Sequencer improvements, file handling improvements, macros introduced.

Date: 16 March 2026

new features:

- Sequencer: multitimbral sync/global bpm, synced position, new & improved controls, improved editing, and some small breaking changes.
  - Multitimbral - BPM is GLOBAL by default, but patches can choose to opt out and go FREE.
  - #1585 multitimbral - you can choose which layers have the sequencer playing, and which layers have 1 droning voice. [Seq] + [Layer 1234] or [Seq] + [Play] will toggle sequencer in real-time.  
  - #1280 [Shift] + (Sequencer Position) = sequencer transpose.
  - Sequencer menu - arrow navigation into rightmost column works if you want to access parameters like enable, global/free BPM, and also to control which bar is displayed. 
  - Sequencer menu - encoder values are now displayed in the bottom of the screen. 
  - #776 P-locks (parameter locks). Fix a certain knob parameter for a sequencer step. Use button in right column under "PAGE" -> P-LOCKS 
  - #1498 Sequencer ties. Supports legato with glide per sequencer track. Press 2 neighbouring preset buttons, for example [2] and [3] to tie steps 2 and 3.
  - #1649 preset switching when sequencer is playing. Use [Seq] + [Preset 12345678] / [Bank ABCD] / [SubBank 1234].
  - #1341 Sequencer - [shift] + [del] init dialog with options: entire sequence, column, all modulations, all notes. 
  - #1520 System -> MIDI -> Send Seq notes : Toggle this button ON to let the sequencer send MIDI note on and note off messages to offboard gear. 
  - MIDI beat clock start is now sent on Play, and beat clock stop is sent on stop. Clock packets are sent depending on BPM and PPQN.
  - Sequencer drunk walk. Use [Shift] + [Play Mode] to set drunkness in any play mode.
  - System menu -> MIDI -> PPQN : set PPQN in range from 4 to 960. Default remains 24 PPQN.
  - Sequencer now offers "seeded" position algorithm : meaning you can tweak rate and play mode, but once you return to your original settings, it will have the position as if you never tweaked it. This mode is now default.
  - [Shift] + (Sequencer Rate) -> modulation slew. Use this to generate complex gliding modulations instead of just modulation steps.

- Macros with start/end range, curve, and polyphonic modulation
  - [Menu] + [Macro Assign] -> macro menu. Works like matrix menu, including copy, paste, delete functions
  - Press and release [Macro Assign], then use vertical faders (also with [Shift]) to control Macro1..10
  - visualization of macro levels (and their modulations) in envelope area
  - assignment via [Macro Assign] button + (knob)
  - [Macro Assign] + up/down arrows / (Op enc) steps through available Macros 1..20
  - [Delete] + [Macro Assign] deletes currently selected macro.
  - [Macro assign] + [Invert] swap start <-> end.
  - Macro side panel that shows all macro destinations for the currently touched macro. Use [Shift] + [View] to change side panel.

- #1457 System menu -> UI -> Control all layers. Does what it says. ;) Alternatively, hold [Enter] and turn knob.  
- #1518 Main screen - Copy and paste now use actual clipboard buffers. This means you can copy presets, samples, and templates between projects.  
- #1357 Main screen - [Shift] + [Delete] - type selection: init patch, sample, or template 
- #1602 OSD and system tray (for parameter-value display and midi/usb activity) are now also visible in menus.  
- #1055 Load / File chooser - choose file type before browsing. This can be toggled with System menu -> UI -> Expert file chooser. 
- Position fader can now be used as a mod source: "POS X".
- Text entry: tooltip - available characters [abcd..0123..] visualized underneath text widget.
- Layer Mix visualization - stereo VU meters for the 4 layers, and for the master output. 
- System settings -> UI -> Message duration : This determines how long popups and temporary OSD messages are shown. 
- #1725 System settings now save and recall USB C mode. Switching mode is also faster.
- #1619 Firmware upgrade - show version in selection dialog. Limited to 2 USB versions for now.  
- #1519 Popups for mounted / unmounted USB sticks.
- #1535 file chooser / file manager - standing on truncated file names shows a bubble with the full name. 
- #1638 Patch menu - Patch comments (max 100 characters) 
- Proper fine and coarse (with proper truncation) of Patch menu -> Transpose
- 1.6.0-a2 Proper fine and coarse (with proper truncation) of Patch menu -> Pitch bend range
- #1099 Save dialog - button code (A11, C14, etc) now shown for patch and template types.
- #1409 [Menu] + [Seq] -> sequencer menu
- [Menu] + [Rec] -> sampling menu
- [Menu] + [LFO Select] -> matrix menu
- [Menu] + [Key Trig],[Sync],[Chord] -> Patch menu
- 1.6.0-a2 white lines for LFO and envelope positions.  
- MIDI CC Visuals now actually displays most incoming CC's as text. This is formatted like: CC <control> <value>.
- 1.6.0-a5 slice engine / autoslice: OSD messages "N slices created", "N slices deleted".
- 1.6.0-a6 Assign sources like macro, aux envelope, p-locks to LFO knobs.
- 1.6.0-a9 system menu - show hostname if customized, and show ip addresses

changes:

- Text entry: [Execute] now inserts the currently highlighted character in the alphabet. Previously: it used to insert a space character. 
- [Seq] + [Play] = toggle sequencer in focused layer. This used to start/stop the sequencer. Instead [Play] (without any other button) now starts playing all layers, and the layers themselves decide if they have sequencer enabled, or just play 1 drone voice, or don't respond at all.
- file chooser and file manager - white path instead of grey.
- FX Menu - [Shift] + [Delete] now just kills all FX instead of setting up a preset of 4 FX.
- #1732 Soft cut enable moved out of the op encoder menu to system menu.
- Lowered voice filter CPU usage. 
- #1517 layer mix - env amount fader now controls input volume

bug fixes:

- Sequencer pos and sequencer length osd message fixed.
- #1701 Load template - keep sample name.
- #1736 synced grain rate could not be assigned using the [LFO Select] button. 
- FX menu - navigation could get stuck in sends column.
- Sequencer in reverse play had invalid wrapping when using non-power-of-two lengths.
- File chooser / file manager - USB stick plugging now properly updates directory contents.
- #1410 sequencer+play leds got whacked when switching focus <-> layers.
- Sequencer wasted CPU time on repeated voice releases. 
- #1422 Save dialog - type: project - showed stored template names instead of stored project names in some cases.
- System menu - disk usage calculation fixed.
- MIDI in / sequencer - handling of song position was bad for larger positions. Could cause jumps.
- Resonance modulation range was broken.
- 1.6.0-a1: Bravely carry on if no USB MIDI device is configured.
- 1.6.0-a7: #1764 Modify a sample in multitimbral that's present in multiple layers. Restoring the sample (using preset button) now restores correct sample in all layers.
- 1.6.0-a10: filter resonance in slice mode was sometimes gone.

known issues:

- high cpu load when connected to Macs via USB C, and using USB audio + MIDI + file sharing